Almost Lover
by ivegotproblams
Summary: In Progress... Songfic...sorta... When a spark is so hot it burns the people being surrounded by it what will our favorite princess give up to make sure the burn isn't fatal?
1. Chapter 1

_**Authors Note: I own nothing! Please review!**_

"_Your fingertips across my skin_

_The palm trees swaying in the wind_

_Images_

_You sang me Spanish lullabies_

_The sweetest sadness in your eyes_

_Clever tricks"_

_-Almost Lover _

_- A Fine Frenzy_

**Chapter One: Almost Lover**

"_What are you doing here?" His voice was gruff, as though he'd just woken up, but she didn't let that deter her. _

"_I needed to see you." He rose an eyebrow questioning that statement. And if she could, she probably would have as well. What was she thinking, it was after midnight and she came down to his room because she needed to see him? Yes, as crazy and ridiculous as it sounded, it was what she did. _

"_C'mom Princess, back to bed with you." He took a hold of her upper arm, not in a harsh and harming grip, yet not in a soft and yielding one either, as he set off down the hallway. _

"_But, Cain…" She started, noticing he was only in his pants and the sight of him shirtless caused her mouth to run dry. _

"Ahem"

A soft clearing of her sister's throat brought DG out of her thoughts and turning around, her teeth gnawing on her lower lip in a thoughtful way. She half-lifted up herself up in order to help her sister sit, but Azkadellia shook off her hands and sat herself across from her. DG moved her head back down to the book she was thumbing through about 'time paradoxes' and 'alternate universes'. It was interesting and had given her a lot to think about, but since she had read it twice already, it just didn't hold the same appeal… especially for the last week. DG reined in the urge to sigh as she could feel Az's eyes baring into her.

"What brings you down to my little neck of the woods?" DG let her eyes look in the direction of Az without meeting her sister's questioning, yet knowing gaze.

"Oh, no reason." Az daintily shrugged, leaning her weight into the chair she was resting upon. She tried her best to make sure that the weakness the witch left her body in when she was destroyed was not shown outwardly, and if DG hadn't known what to look for and hadn't been quite stubborn herself, she would've just let it go. A pained look overcame DG's face as guilt took over, she was quick to squash it, but not quick enough for Azkadellia not to see a fragment of the hurt the witch was still causing to their family. "Deeg…" She started, but DG shook her head, closing the book in front of her and feeling around with her feet.

"I don't know about you, Az, but I'm absolutely starving." she let on as she frowned, her feet not finding their objective. "Just… gimme a sec." Azkadellia watched as her sister upended herself underneath the furniture searching for whatever her feet failed to find.

"What on earth are you doing?" She asked, trying to sound strict, but couldn't help the amusement that bled through.

"That's exactly what I'd like to know, too."

At the sound of his voice, DG went still under the table, finally having found her slippers that she had taken off while in the comfort of her afternoon library session.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well I never want to see you unhappy

"_Well I never want to see you unhappy_

_I thought you'd want the same for me"_

**Chapter Two: Unhappy **

"Well?"

Hearing his boots start their slow tread towards where she hid under the table, she jumped up, bumping her head. "God-dammit!" DG furrowed her eyebrows, as she brought her hand up, rubbing where a bump was now forming.

"DG…" The reaction was almost instant. One second she was alone under the table, still swearing under her breath, and the next Cain was beside her on his knees, pulling her into the light. If the bump hadn't made her a dizzy, and if she weren't quite nervous as to her present position where Cain held her in his lap surveying the damage, then she would have laughed at the situation. As it was, Az was looking on being very quite and Cain kept gently probing her skull for worry she'd fractured it in her clumsiness. She almost purred with contentment as his hands ran through her hair, only to repeat the process. She went back to that night, that night when everything between them came to a knife point. One that they had balanced on for so very long and she honestly had no idea how they had lasted as long as they had without one of them falling over.

_Cain stopped moving forward the second that he felt DG's body go beside his. "DG…" His voice started out commanding and ended up dying on his lips as he saw her turn her eyes from his chest and meet his own. _

"_Cain." She replied, although it was more of a breathless question, confession and consent in two little syllables. _

_The next thing either of them knew, Cain's grip on her arm increased to a painful degree, and he was pulling her towards him, letting his other hand curl itself into her long, wavy locks. "We shouldn't be doing this."_

_DG leaned in, letting herself reach up and grab a little tuft of hair on his chest, allowing her fingers to trail through it. "We're not doing anything." Her reply was said to his chest as she watched, as if transfixed, as her fingers ran up and down his chest. _

_He let out a low growl as he felt one of her nails lightly scrape across his left nipple. He grabbed her then, and like a flash, had her back against the wall and her arms held above her head, captive. "This isn't a game kid." Emphasizing his point, he leant down until he was a hairs breath away from her lips and let loose a puff of air. _

_She felt herself shaking and let her tongue wet her lips. He made as if to move closer, and then all of a sudden, nothing. The weight of his body, his grip on her wrists, those kissable lips… it was as if they had suddenly disappeared. _

"I'm perfectly fine!" She scrambled to get up, but he held her close as he got up before finally allowing himself to let go of her. She turned around, her lips pursed and her eyes flashing in annoyance, the air around her seemed to be cackling with it too. She'd gotten better about controlling her magick since being back in the OZ, but it was still extremely difficult, especially in times of high emotional turbulence. And this? This was definitely one of those times.

"My deepest apologies, Princess. I _am_ in charge of your well being, it would look mightly bad if the queen were to see you in anything less than your perfect condition." Cain finished his derisive dialogue with a dip of his hat, before turning on his heel and heading towards the door.

DG's fists were clenched and she was sure that if he had stayed one second longer, she was going to send him to see the freakin' great and powerful wizard of Oz.

Just as she was contemplating different ways to strangle her bodyguard, he poked his head around the door. "Oh, I forgot the reason that I came in was that the Queen asked for an audience with the two of you."

Removing his head from the death glare DG had on her face and the confused glance that Azkadellia had, he barely missed the flying fireball that came flying through the door, singing his fedora.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Author's Note: I'm so so sorry! My computer broke so I'm working from my grandmother's computer and a notebook. Please bear with me! _**

"_Goodbye my almost lover_

_Goodbye my hopeless dream"_

**Chapter Three: Goodbye**

"That… son of a… damn little…" DG's muttering continued under her breath as she helped her sister to the Queen's… her mother's study. She mentally shook her head; it was still difficult to remember, even after the months her mother had spent with her.

Az made no sound as her sister aided her through the palace halls, but she couldn't help the small smirk that was brought to her lips as DG turned around and saw the shadow of her bodyguard shaking with laughter at her nonsensical ramblings. DG snapped her head back to the front, embarrassment and frustration causing her to pull Az along faster, in her haste to get away from the man that haunted her, day and night.

"_Cain?" DG's voice was slightly breathless as she looked around the empty hall, only the slamming of a door, echoing around the empty hall alerted her to the fact she was missing one important partaker to her midnight escape. Quietly going back to the door that just minutes ago she'd stepped through, she tried the handle, unsurprised to find it locked. Her lips thinned in displeasure, he should have known better. She shook her head as she lifted her hand to the knob again, letting a little of her magickal current sweep through her fingertips to lift the latch. _

_Cain had his back to the door as he looked out his window, only turning his head slightly to see her enter before allowing himself to turn back. "The door _was _locked." His voice was tired, stressed._

_She worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she came into the room and shut the door behind her. "Locks only give the illusion of safety." DG quoted, her eyes trained on the back of his head, hoping for some kind of inclination as to what he was thinking. "Isn't that what you told me?"_

_He didn't move as she walked slowly over to him, but she realized that he knew what she was doing and was allowing it if only for the moment. She stood beside him, as though overlooking the grounds of Finaqua, when in reality she was studying him. _

"_Cain, I-"_

"_I'm leaving." He stated quietly but surely, as though it was already a fact, no waver of indecision in his voice. _

"Your fingertips across my skin !-- page size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in P margin-bottom: 0.08in --

They'd made it safely to their mother's office and much to DG's chagrin; Cain had come in as well. A knock on the door and, low and behold, before them was Jeb Cain and Glitch or Ambrose as her mother still called him. Glitch had gone with Jeb's battalion to search the OZ for other Resistance fighters that had made it through the fight during the Double Eclipse, and group them together to form the new Royal Guard and Tin Men for the Zone. Longcoats were still running amuck, and in their large numbers, the Resistance fighters on their own wouldn't stand a chance. But, by their worn, disheveled appearances and the faint grin of relief on their faces, DG could tell that the success of the mission far outweighed the failure.

"Jeb?" She could hear Cain's whispered relief at seeing his son alive, as she rushed forward and into Glitch's wide open arms.

"Good to see you too, Doll." He quirked a smile at her, before leaning down and kissing the tip of her nose.

"Your fingertips across my skin !-- page size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in P margin-bottom: 0.08in --

**_Author's Note: Now dear reader's, I'm giving you a choice. I chance.. I know all of them are extremely short, sorry about that. Anyways, the choice. Jeb or Glitch for Azkadellia? I'll take reviews and private messages if you choose to vote. Let the voting commence … NOW! :P I will, of course, make the final decision. But it's not made yet. I need help and input from my readers as to why one should get her over the other, or if Az should even have a relationship. So, please let me know and I'll try to get back to you when I can next use the computer. _**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note: I hope yal enjoy this chapter! I know I really enjoyed writing it! :) **_

_I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be? _

**Chapter Four: Let Me Be**

The night was so peaceful, much unlike how the day was, now. With her lessons about the kingdom and about what was anticipated of her as a princess of the OZ, it was a rare occasion that she could just put her feet up and relax. Not that when she was resting, her mind turned off. A sigh escaped through her lips – sometimes those were the worst times. When she was surrounded by people, it was expected for her to act – and that's all it was, an act. It was when she was alone that it all started coming down around her. She didn't ask for this, DG thought, as she glared, resentfully out towards the waters of Finiqua. But sooner than she would've liked, her glare turned into a guilt filled grimace as she realized, that whether she asked for it or not, she caused the events to happen the way that they did. It was nearing twilight as far as she could tell by the moons' placements in the sky, and knowing that it wouldn't be long until her guards checked on her, she knew she should go back to her room. But as she felt the wind flow through the swing and whisk her forward into the night air, DG told herself that her goody-two-shoes act could wait for another five minutes. How was she to know that five more minutes would turn into two hours and that the one man she'd been trying her best to avoid for the past two weeks would track her down just in time to return her to her bed...

_The hand reaching for him dropped as though suddenly weighed down. "Hu-What?" DG asked, willing her voice to be strong and steady, and hating herself when it came out weak and shaky. "You can't."_

_He didn't even spare her a glance, just kept that unnerving stare of his, out the window. _

_DG's eyebrows came together in frustration, as she stepped in front of him. "Dammit Cain! Don't you - " _

_The rest of her sentence was cut off as he pushed her against the wall, molding his body to hers, as his left hand reached up and gripped her hair harshly. "Don't I what?" His voice barked at her. Each word emphasized by his tightening grip and his lips coming closer than she'd ever thought possible. "Don't I what?" A sharp nip to her ear accentuated his statement, when she still hadn't answered his question._

"_Wh-What are you doing, Cain?" DG's voice was quivering. Confusion, want, anger, and need coursed through her, causing her light blue eyes to darken to a stormy blue._

_His lips crooked into a strange mix between a sneer and a smirk, as they ghosted over her ear. "Nothing you don't want me to, Princess." His voice was degrading, yet it still had the desired effect, as a shiver coursed down her spine. _

"Mmm..." DG snuggled further into her bed as the suns' light filtered in from the open door on her balcony. The bed felt so much better than – DG shot up in her bed. "How-" She brought a hand to her head, trying to remember coming back to her room last night, but all she could remember was the swing and the wind. Her eyes went down to the sheet covering her, and it was then that she truly wished she could snap her fingers and disappear. There, in her hands, covering her from the cold, was Cain's coat. She looked around, her cheeks pink in embarressment as she realized that the said owner of said coat hadn't left yet.


End file.
